I am 58 with stage three COPD and have not been a smoker. I have many suspicions about what caused my COPD such as perhaps:
Severe spring fall allergies and chronic asthma
My dad was a heavy smoker, perhaps second hand smoke. I think it set off a hyperresponsive lung reaction and allergies while I was a kid maybe.
I had Celiac all my life but was not diagnosed until 52. Alung biopsy when I was 52 showed blood in the interstitial tissue of the lungs. The pulmonary doc at National Jewish said the celiac may have caused the blood in the interstitial tissue. Celiac is an autoimmune disease caused by gluten.
Perhaps undiagnosed pneumonia
I am wondering if there will be any common threads emerge for non/never-smokers with COPD.